The invention set forth in this specification pertains to a new and improved bumper structure including a drive mechanism which is primarily intended for use in pinball or pinball type games.
Commonly pinball or pinball type games are constructed so that an appropriately actuated ball is allowed to move or roll along the front of a platform into engagement with one or more different types of obstacles or structures which tend to alter the motion of such a ball. The expression "bumper structure" is employed with pinball type games to designate structures which are adapted to be engaged by balls and which are adapted to provide some sort of action or reaction as a result of being so engaged.
Certain prior art bumper structures merely cause the actuation of lights or a score mechanism when engaged. Frequently such bumper structures are essentially spring mechanisms which alter the path a ball will travel along a front surface of a platform in a pinball-type game. At the present time the term "bumper structure" is increasingly being utilized to designate structures which, when engaged by a ball, apply a force to the ball so as to propel the ball away from the bumper mechanism in a manner dependent upon the way the ball has engaged the bumper structure.
Such bumper mechanism structures which are constructed so as to apply a force to a ball are frequently considered as employing a drive mechanism since they tend to propel or drive the ball away from the bumper structure. In the past many of such bumper mechanisms or structures employing a drive mechanism have been constructed so as to utilize electrical means such as solenoids to provide the mechanical force necessary to propel a ball. It is considered that such structures are comparatively disadvantageous because of the costs involved in constructing them. In certain fields such as in the field of comparatively inexpensive toys intended for household use costs are quite important. It has long been recognized that as a general rule cost savings can frequently be achieved by utilizing comparatively simple mechanical structures instead of electric or electronic devices for the same purpose. There are, of course, many exceptions to this.
In the past a number of efforts have been made at providing bumper structures employing a drive mechanism constructed so as to utilize a mechanical structure to provide a mechanical force necessary to propel a ball. Certain of such mechanical structures have employed a rotating member in a bumper structure which is adapted to be engaged by a ball and then to deflect the ball outwardly. Such structures impart movement to a ball in accordance with the rotation of the rotating member used in them. This is not necessarily desirable in a pinball type game. Frequently it is desirable to use a bumper mechanism which propels a ball outwardly from the bumper structure in a manner reasonably corresponding to the manner in which a ball rebounds against a spring in such a game.
To a degree this rebound-type propulsion action has been achieved in a mechanical bumper structure constructed so that the weight of a ball entering the bumper structure engages a member so as to move the member downwardly into engagement with a rotary wheel. Such engagement imparts a rotary force component to the member causing it to move upwardly in such a manner that the ball initially causing the movement is clamped between sloping surfaces so as to be propelled outwardly from the bumper structure. Although this type of structure is unquestionably utilitarian it is considered to impart to the ball at least some minor degree of rotation resulting from the rotation of the movable member. This, of course, will tend to prevent the ball from reasonably simulating a rebound action achieved with a spring-type rebound structure. This type of structure also has the disadvantage that the dimension and configuration of the bumper structure are limited by the mode of operation employed.